PURCHASE, N.Y. and QUINCY, Mass., March 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC participated in several initiatives in 2013 as part of an ongoing commitment to responsible retailing and their promise to be a better neighbor within the various communities it serves. These initiatives focus on the key areas of healthy customers, healthy kids and healthy communities.

"Stop & Shop has maintained a longstanding commitment to all of the communities it calls home," said Joe Kelley, president of Stop & Shop New England Division. "As we enter into our 100th year and reflect on how far we have come, our promise remains the same, to always support our loyal customers, neighborhoods and philanthropic communities in which we serve."

Healthy Customers

Stop & Shop provides their customers with a variety of health and wellness resources to make healthier choices for themselves and their families. The Healthy Ideas product labeling system includes thousands of own brand and national brand perishable and nonperishable products that feature the blue and green Healthy Ideas shelf tags to help customers identify healthy options as they shop the aisles.

"At Stop & Shop we embrace the opportunity to create programs to educate our customers and their families about the importance of nutrition and the importance of food for a healthy lifestyle," said Don Sussman, president of Stop & Shop New York Metro Division. "Stop & Shop is proud of the community forums and programs we create or sponsor to help improve the lives of those we serve."

Healthy Kids

The company also focuses on healthier kids through Passport to Nutrition, a fun, interactive program to make the topic of healthy eating exciting for kids. A total of 4,000 Passport to Nutrition kits were distributed to parents and educators, and more than 114,000 children were reached through this innovative educational program in 2013. Stop & Shop also hosted more than 1,300 Kid Healthy Ideas store tours and reached over 24,000 children.

In addition, in 2013 Stop & Shop hosted 4 Healthy Kids Summits, free events that focus on how to make sure kids are getting the nutrition and exercise their bodies need and more than 1,200 kids participated in these events. In 2013, Stop & Shop launched an innovative three-year, $6 million initiative to fight childhood hunger across its market area. This initiative will provide healthy meals to underserved children through child care, after school, mobile pantries, summer programs, and other approaches spearheaded by regional food bank partners.

Healthy Community

More than $28 million was donated in 2013 through customer, vendor and associate donations, to local organizations committed to fighting hunger, improving the lives of children and building healthy communities. As a food retailer, Stop & Shop recognizes the important role they can play in helping to eradicate hunger in the communities they serve, with over $12 million in hunger-related donations in 2013. Stop & Shop works especially close with regional food banks to donate high-protein meat and other safe consumable food, and contributed more than $10 million to their food bank partners through the "Meat the Needs" program in 2013.

With support from Stop & Shop vendor partners, Our Family Foundation donated nearly $13 million to such charitable causes as funding cancer research and pediatric cancer hospitals, grassroots programs that support children's health and nutrition, and programs to alleviate child hunger by reaching more food insecure children with healthy meals. A special donation was also made in 2013 to One Fund Boston to aid victims of the Boston Marathon Bombing.

In addition, Stop & Shop is making efforts that reduce waste in stores and improve efficiencies in energy uses in both new and existing stores. By 2020, the company has set a goal of getting to "zero waste," diverting 90% of waste going to landfills and incinerations through the expansion of its organic recycling program and new opportunities for recycling cardboard, plastic, paper, and single stream recycling. To further reduce waste in landfills, Stop & Shop encourages customers to remember to bring reusable bags with them each and every time they shop. In 2013, companywide, 102 million plastic and paper bags were saved thanks to those customers who regularly shopped with reusable bags.

To learn more about Stop & Shop and their responsible retailing efforts, visit www.ahold.com.

About Stop & ShopThe Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC employs approximately 59,000 associates and operates 395 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. The company helps support local communities fight hunger, combat childhood cancer and promote general health and wellness – with emphasis on children's educational and support programs. In its commitment to be a sustainable company, Stop & Shop is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and EPA's Smart Way program and has been recognized by the EPA for the superior energy management of its stores. Stop & Shop is an Ahold company. To learn more about Stop & Shop, visit www.stopandshop.com or www.facebook.com/stopandshop.